Salary & Negotiation

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The most exciting part of the job or internship search process is receiving an offer. Once you receive an offer, though, your work isn't quite done yet. You need to decide whether to accept or respectfully decline it. The Career Center is here to help you through every stage of this process. If you need help deciding how to handle a job offer, contact your career advisor or walk in to either one of our offices. Be sure to tell the front desk that you’re dealing with a job offer and that the issue is time sensitive. We will answer your questions as quickly as possible and hopefully set your mind at ease.

As you start to look over your job offer, here are a few actions to think about:

Before You Walk in the Door

The first thing you should do prior to even walking in the door for
an interview is to know what you’re worth. Do your research. Having
access to as much information as possible will put you in a stronger
position to negotiate. Sites like Salary, Payscale, Glassdoor, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics
can give you a detailed breakdown of the average starting salary for
the position you are interviewing for while taking into account a wide
variety of other factors, including location, certifications, and
education level.

Talk to the people you know who work at the company or in the industry. ASK
is a great resource that can connect you with DePaul alumni working in
your field of study. Have a firm idea of what you are worth before you
even schedule your first interview.

Conduct a Self-Assessment

As a fresh grad, you may be wondering if you even have the right to
negotiate a job offer. This is where a self-assessment can come in
handy. Ask yourself:

What can you offer this employer that other
candidates cannot?

Do you have any certifications?

Are you intimately
familiar with their products or services because you’ve worked for one
of their customers in the past?

Are the skills you obtained in school
unique to the location of the employer?

If you have a sense of your
value in the marketplace you will have the confidence to negotiate
successfully.

Find out what’s important to the company; ask the hiring manager what
he or she considers the most urgent business needs. If you really want
to impress your future employer, type up a plan for what you believe you
can accomplish in the first 90 days and hand it to them. This can
increase your value immensely and can be used as leverage if you decide
to negotiate.

When to Start Negotiating

Remember to hold off the salary discussion for as long as possible.
Your job is to make them fall in love with you throughout the interview
process, so that when you do get to the offer stage, they’re already
feeling like they can’t live without you.

When the employer does ask your salary requirements, you should first
try to deflect and tell them that your larger concerns are things like
job stability, growth opportunities, and culture fit. If they continue
to press, avoid giving a specific number. Instead, give them a range and
reference your source (i.e. one of the websites listed above) so they
know you aren’t pulling those numbers from thin air. Be comfortable with
an offer anywhere in that range, and make sure you have a bottom line
number that you’re willing to accept.

The Whole Package

There are many things to take into account when negotiating other
than just your base salary. You want to look at the entire compensation
package, which includes your benefits. Benefits can comprise insurance,
vacation time, tuition reimbursement, stock options, relocation
expenses, professional membership fees, gym memberships, flexible work
options, and unpaid leave time.

Some or all of these things may be negotiable, but as a fresh grad,
you may want to focus on things that will allow you to be a better
performer. For example, it may not necessarily be wise to try to ask for
more vacation time up front; you haven’t necessarily earned that yet.
Instead, you may want to ask for a new laptop or smartphone if you know
you’ll be working outside of the office. Remember, you want to backup
whatever you ask for with a reason for why you think you need or deserve
it.

Now, just because you can negotiate your job offer doesn’t mean that you necessarily should.
Some industries are also more conducive to salary negotiation than
others. For example, highly structured sectors like the government or
military will not have negotiable salaries.

If you’ve received what you perceive to be a fair offer at a company
that has a clear path for advancement and where you will be working on
projects that excite you, it’s ok to accept the offer as is. However,
even if you plan to do this, it’s always wise to give yourself at least
24 hours to review the offer and talk about it with a family member or
trusted advisor. No legitimate company will force you to give your
acceptance on the spot. You should take that time granted to you to
really make sure this is an offer you’re happy with.

Do not hesitate to ask the employer for more details about what it is like to work for his or her organization. If you have reservations about an internship or job offer or are actively interviewing with other companies, contact an employer to see if you can be given more time to decide.​

Don’t feel obligated to negotiate the compensation package with an employer. It is not necessary if you feel the employer is making you a fair offer based on your skills, experience and market value for the position. Not all entry-level compensation packages are negotiable.​​

Once you have sorted through your priorities and chosen the offer that best meets your needs, call the employer to accept the position. Request to receive the desired offer in writing. If that is not the company’s normal policy, then follow up with a confirmation email or letter that includes the position, start date, rate of pay and any other terms the employer agreed upon. Keep a copy of the company’s letter, and/or your confirmation letter, for future reference. And, congratulations!

Once you have accepted an offer, do not continue to apply for other jobs and interview. If an organization finds out that you are pursuing other opportunities after accepting their offer, you can risk your reputation and offer with that organization.​

Contact the employer by phone or email to state you are declining the offer. Indicate your appreciation for the offer and the opportunity to interview. Consider following up by sending a rejection letter, thanking those who interviewed you for their time and stating some of the factors that interested you in the organization.​